Sensitive video interviews given to police by alleged victims of Jimmy Savile’s ex-chauffeur and flatmate Ray Teret were on computers stolen from a Manchester flat, the M.E.N. can reveal.

The Crown Prosecution Service is now facing questions over a company it entered into a contract with to edit victims’ interviews for court.

Nazir Afzal, head of the north west CPS, said he was ‘very concerned’ and has ordered an urgent investigation into the security arrangements at Swan Films and the contractual terms in place. Data protection watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is also launching a probe.

Former Manchester radio DJ Mr Teret, from Altrincham, is accused of a string of sex crimes including 15 counts of rape of a girl aged under-16. The charges, which he denies, span a period between 1962 and 1996.

Swan Films says it offers audio visual services and is understood to be based on Wynnstay Grove in Fallowfield, although it’s believed other premises are used for editing.

A man answering a phone number for the company refused to answer any questions. It doesn’t have a website.

An alleged rape victim in a different case who was told her footage was involved said: “This should simply not have been allowed to happen. It is a huge data breach. It appears that the interviews were allowed to be kept in a flat without security. It appears to me that this company was not properly vetted.”

The burglary was reported at 2.20pm on September 11. Alleged victims involved were notified by CPS and police representatives but the M.E.N. understands it’s being treated as an opportunistic break-in.

The footage was recovered on Saturday and has not been accessed. The CPS has master copies and has seized all confidential material remaining in the flat.

Mr Afzal said: “The care and support of victims and witnesses is our number one priority, and I appreciate that this incident will have caused anxiety to the victims concerned. We have been able to reassure the victims that all the video material has been recovered and initial checks suggest that it was not accessed in any way between the time the equipment was stolen and its recovery. However I am determined that the police investigations and our own internal CPS investigation establish all the circumstances of the theft and the arrangements in place at the company. We have secured all remaining video material from the company while investigations continue.”

Six men arrested on suspicion of burglary and handling stolen goods have been bailed pending further enquiries.